Arsenal of Democracy: Wood

Painting signs on wood has several advantages: they're sturdy, weatherproof, and can be posted literally in one second... just lean it up against something.


Wooden signs are also good for dropping into places where they can't be easily extricated, like these wire cages, or the space between fences and walls.



Wooden pallets are also very useful. You can turn practically any hillside or field into a podium simply by bringing out a pallet, leaning it up against something, and binderclipping your sign to the wood. Chances are the person who takes down the sign won't bother to drag the pallet away as well (particularly if it's a hike...), thus making the pallet re-useable. I put at least half a dozen signs on the same pallet on the Altamont Pass before they finally dragged the pallet away. Then I just brought another pallet.

Here are some other posts concerning freewayblogging with wood:

Working with Wood

Arsenal of Democracy: Crappy Furniture

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Updates/Backlog

Here are some updates on the freewayblogging cases in Illinois and Ohio. I don't know if my example will be brought up in either case, but I sort of hope it is. The problem with making political signposting illegal, apart from being utterly unconstitutional and, indeed, a knife plunged into the very heart of everything this country's supposed to stand for, is that it's practically unenforceable.


With thousands of miles of roadside at your disposal, you pick the time, place, and manner of posting. Following my methods, the act itself takes less than ten seconds. Up until then you're just a person carrying a folded piece of cardboard, after that you're just a person walking away.


Corny as it sounds, the greatest weapon a freewayblogger has in their arsenal is faith in America. I can do what I do with no fear of getting caught because, simply, I don't fear getting caught. I was taught that this was a country where expressing my political beliefs as effectively as I can is not only my right, in times of crisis it's my responsibility, and I'd be glad, even honored, to defend that view in court.



But not until I absolutely have to.

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(Signs posted since January 1st.)

Arsenal of Democracy: Furniture Stores

The area behind furniture stores is usually an excellent place to obtain massive pieces of cardboard.


One of the many simple beauties of this art form is that it requires only cardboard, paint, duct tape (black and white) and a boxcutter to pretty much complete your toolbox.

Massive pieces of cardboard can be used as a whole canvas,

Or cut into pieces to make many smaller signs.

I like to do both.

Arsenal of Democracy: Turnouts

Roadside turnouts on divided highways are a textbook example of applied freewayblogging strategy. Simply pull over on turnout, drive to the far end and place your sign so that it faces the oncoming lanes. Remember, if you can see their windshields from the posting spot, they can see your sign. The amount of time you can see their windshield is the amount of time they can see your sign as well.

To maximize duration, make sure your sign is hidden from forthcoming traffic by bushes, poles, berms or traffic signs, as shown above. Remember that the strength of the medium resides in the fact that most high-traffic roadways are very strictly defined courseways, and that the lines of sight for people driving on them are constant and predictable. The above sign, on the southbound side of Highway 17 between San Jose and Santa Cruz, took about a minute to post, start to finish. It's entirely invisible to southbound traffic and practically unreachable to northbound.

Arsenal of Democracy: The Printer

Hey Scarlet, here's a simple method for those who don't have overhead projectors. It'll cost a little more in printer ink and paper, but it's super fast once you get going. The easiest way is to use Word or Powerpoint and put a single large letter on each page. Optionally, you can add graphics.

Simply print (in draft mode to save ink) and paste on cardboard with glue stick. Bonus tip: Use high-visibility, neon paper for that extra wow-factor.

A more advanced technique uses Publisher software. This allows you to have words/letters span page breaks, but unless your printer prints to the edge of the paper, you will need to trim the overlap paper when aligning the text. In Publisher, choose a "Banner" publication and enter the dimensions that most closely fit your sign dimensions.

Enter your text and any graphics so that they fit your chosen size. I prefer to use "Word Art" for my text because it resizes really well (Insert Picture Word Art). Be sure to do Print Preview before printing!

After printing, you'll need to trim the overlap space, and paste with a glue stick. This is a little more work, but the results are great.

Peace, Love and Free Speech,
Maria in AZ

Arsenal of Democracy: Fences And Bushes

While driving on the freeway, look for parking lots bordered by bushes and fences. Take the next exit, find your way back to the parking lot and place sign between bushes and fence.


Get back in your car, drive away and do it again.

Arsenal of Democracy: Cardboard

Mr. McGuire: I just want to say one word to you - just one word.
Ben: Yes sir.
Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?
Ben: Yes I am.
Mr. McGuire: 'Plastics.'
Ben: Exactly how do you mean?
Mr. McGuire: There's a great future in plastics. Think about it. Will you think about it?
Ben: Yes I will.
Mr. McGuire: Shh! Enough said. That's a deal.

Remember this scene from "The Graduate" and you'll know how I feel about cardboard. If I can accomplish just one thing in my lifetime, I want it to be having turned as many people as I possibly could on to the simple power of cardboard and paint.

When you paint a sign and put it up in public, people will read it until one of them takes it down. That's a fact. The more you think about what you say, the more people will think about what they've read. The more you think about where you put it, the more people will read it.

I put signs on freeways because I feel it's mny right - because that's where all the flags went up after September 11th, and because that's where all the people are. You don't have to use the freeways: you can use the parks, the libraries or the town square. The ability to post free political opinion on public property is not only your right, it's one of the most protected rights you've got.

Unlike the traditional mediums of butcher paper or bedsheets, cardboard is easy to paint, easy to post and holds its shape and legibility through all kinds of weather.


Painting and posting signs is not only a highly efficient way to express your political beliefs, it's also a hell of a lot of fun.

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War With Iran?

from BBC
I put the above sign up in Berkeley, next to the I-80 eastbound in between the "Impeach" below, which has been up for five days now...

And this "The War is a Lie." which has been up for three days.


I've said it before and I'll say it again: if you want to convey a simple message to an ENORMOUS number of people, this is how to do it: place signs near freeways. There is no cheaper, easier nor more effective method of protest in today's society. And it's a HELL of a lot of fun.


Simple Instructions Here Other tips can be found by typing the word "arsenal" into the search box of this blog.




I spent the rest of the day putting up these signs, (and lots of others,) next to the 80, 580 and 101. If you were driving around the Bay Area you'd think the populace was on the very brink of revolution. (They're not, but it only takes one person with a pickup truck and an overhead projector to make it look that way.)




Having done this steadily for the past few years, I can tell you that signs are staying up a lot longer now - months sometimes - particularly the ones that say "Impeach."

Of course, I also have my critics:

I know there's a lot of you out there who'd like to be doing this but are afraid it's illegal. I'd like to remind you that once all those flags started going up on overpasses after September 11th, that opened them up as legitimate forums for political expression. I'd also like to remind you that yes, if a cop sees you doing it he'll probably ask you to stop. Big Deal. I've put up close to 4,000 signs now and have been stopped by police seven times with little or no consequence.


When the men who founded this country gave us the right to free political speech, they meant for us to USE IT. Particularly during times like these. Granted, sticking up protest signs isn't going to get Bush impeached or stop this war or the next one no matter how many people see them. What it does do though, is make the country look better. If you're not seeing protest signs in your city but would like to, I strongly suggest you start putting them up yourself. It's not only our right as a citizens, I believe it's actually our duty and am more than willing to stand behind that belief in court, which is why I continue to put up signs without fear of legal reprisal.

And also, as I said before, it's a hell of a lot of fun.

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